Beneath The Cherry Blossom Tree
by BerrySorbet
Summary: Romance between Yuffie and Vincent. After finding herself wounded by a dragon and running from her arranged marriage, Yuffie turns to Vincent for help. Yuffie's POV. Lots of fluff and adventure.
1. Chapter 1

_You know, the whole time we were fighting Sephiroth, I always had this annoying voice inside my head that told me I shouldn't really be here. I mean...everyone else had reasons for being there, apart from me. They all had some interesting back story that tied them in with everyone else. Me? Not really. I was just tagging along. No one really wanted me there... like if I had just disappeared, they could still go defeat Sephiroth without me. I wasn't really part of it...I was optional._

--

It was kinda strange I bumped into the AVALANCHE crew in the first place. It was completely by chance in one of the forests near Gongaga. I had just finished packing up camp in the morning and I. Was. Grumpy. It's not my fault if they came up behind me with materia on show, what else was I supposed to do!? Turned out to be a bad decision. Cloud can hit pretty hard when he wants to.

....I could beat him now though.. They just caught me off guard.

There were two girls with him that first time. One had beautiful long black hair reaching down past her waist and wine coloured eyes, classically beautiful you know, with a real emotion behind her surprisingly strong fists. The other girl was more mysterious, her eyes glowed green slightly in the dim forest light, and her magic skills beyond human capacity. I wondered what they were doing around such an empty part of forest, and worried secretly that they were hired by my father to take me back to Wutai.

It was earlier that month when my father summoned me to the top of the pagoda tower when trouble started. I stared at my feet while Godo spoke to me, drumming my fingers on the floor impatiently. I wanted to get back to my training and Godo was just going on and on and on about something _really_ boring.

"Yuffie!" He snapped.

I rolled my eyes and looked up at him, I just assumed he'd found out I'd stolen another one of Gorkii's materia.

"Did you listen to anything I just said?!" His fierce gaze looked down on me.

"Yeah, yeah, alright, I won't steal any more materia, gawd, you were the one who taught me how. Anyway he really shouldn't just leave that stuff lying arou-"

"YUFFIE!"

"What?!" I posed innocently trying to keep his temper under control.

"I wasn't talking about you're childish antics, Yuffie, I was talking about you leading Wutai into the New Year." He rubbed his temples and gave me a tired look.

"What? Okay, yeah, like I could rule a country. Good one Godo, you know women aren't allowed to rule without a husba..."

He fidgeted in his chair silently.

"....WHAT?!" I exploded jumping back onto my feet, "You want me to get married?!"

"Well-"

"I'm freakin' SIXTEEN!"

"Exactly, you're verging on womanhood and well I'm not getting any younger-"

"What the hell? Gawd, I don't care how old you are. I don't care if you die a shrivelled old man living at the top of Da Chao and your last dying wish was for me to rule the country, I'm not getting freakin' married!!" So I stomped out of the pagoda, packed my bags, and ran away.

So now I had this choice. I could either; run back to Wutai and apologise to my father and get married like he wanted me to, run away from Cloud and his friends and steal a bit of their materia, or join them in their quest to find Sephiroth. Well it's pretty obvious I didn't pick the first one. The second choice had it's perks but, if I stayed and joined them, maybe I could learn how the girl uses so much materia at once. That was my original intention anyway.

Soon I found myself attached to this group of hell raisers, we were like family to each other. Albeit a slight dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless.

The Journey we took made me stronger, much stronger than I was before. I thought it was finally safe to return to Wutai. I mean, it's not like I hadn't proven myself before. I defeated everyone at the pagoda, including Godo himself, and saved the freakin' world! Plus with all the materia I had mastered I thought I _must_ have proven that I could run Wutai by myself (by this time I had thought about the idea and wouldn't mind being 'Lady Kisaragi' as long as there didn't need to be a Master Kisaragi), I even stole one of Cloud's materia!

.....It was Ultima...he didn't use it that much...I think..

But no! Godo was having none of it. Saying tradition is tradition, even he couldn't change that.

So I ran away again. He did say he was proud of me, but I was far from forgiving him when I left.

After that I didn't know what to do with myself. There wasn't much _to _do. I mean, I fought a couple of big battles with some friends but I still didn't feel like going back home, I knew Godo would NOT let me get away again. It was so boring though! Just killing the odd monster and checking up with a few relatives, in the end I ran out of gil and there was no one else to turn to... Aw crap.

It was late summer when I returned to Wutai. The leaves were slowly turning red and sun crept low in the sky. Godo was waiting for me at the entrance of my house. He looked up when he saw me coming with hope in eyes that were tired and heavy. Shuffling towards me slowly, he placed a hand on either shoulder and whispered in my ear.

"You came, you finally came."

Suddenly his hand caught a tight grip on my ear as anger erupted on his face. The stupid lier. He screamed his head off at me in front of the whole town and stomped up into the pagoda red faced, whilst still holding onto my now violent pink ear. He let go of me when we reached the top but shut the door and had Chekov guard behind it so I couldn't escape.

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU RUN AWAY AGAIN AND NOT RETURN FOR ALMOST THREE YEARS!" He wasn't too happy about the whole affair. "I COULD KILL YOU RIGHT NOW YUFFIE, I REALLY COULD!"

"Actually you probably couldn't, remember I beat you three years ago."

"Stop it, Yuffie! This is not a joke, what would've happened if I had died? Who would have ruled Wutai?" He looked more serious now and a lot less angry.

"Well then I would have had to take leadership without a husband. What a shame that would have been!" I slumped on the floor in front of him, rubbing my ear slightly.

"So you've just been waiting me to die? Well you're not getting away this time. You are staying in Wutai and you are getting married whether you like it or not! I've already chosen your groom."

"What?! You can't force me to get married! I could kill you old man, and your little minions. I've done it before and I'll do it again!" He had taken my weapons and materia off me when we entered the pagoda but he didn't know about the shurikens in the pocket of my shorts.

"Ah but have you taken us all on at the same time?" He had me there."Look, will you at least meet him?"

"Fine, but if he turns out to be some old creepy perverted guy so help me gods!" At this point I decided to get up, I could make a run for the door when he opens it.

"Chekov!" My insane father barked.

I readied myself to spring to the door, but just as it opened, just as I was about to hurl a shuriken into Chekov's thigh, I was stopped in my tracks...

"Kii?" I asked.

"Hia Yuffie!" He strided forward and enclosed me in a tight hug. Chekov then noticed the shuriken in my hand and shut the door quick. I missed my chance.

"Yuffie, you remember Kii don't you?" My father glared at me and snatched the shuriken out of my hand while I was still being squashed by Kii's bear hug.

It was a long time since I'd last seen him. Kii and I were top of our class in training since we were 4. I remember not ever being able to beat him, even though I was fast, he was just too strong. Every summer we used to run round Da Chao together looking for hidden caves and climb up the cherry blossom tree that lay between our houses and dream about becoming legendary warriors together, jumping from branch to branch. It was so strange, even though I was never able to beat him, I was the one who became the legendary saviour of the world. Shows you what happens when you stay in Wutai your whole life.

"It's good to see you." I sang giving him a cheery smile, I could work this to my advantage.

Finally he let go and looked me up and down. I guess he was okay looking, he gotten a lot taller and a lot bigger since I last saw him...We must have been about fourteen then. "Well, you sure have gotten taller, there's not much more on you though." He said, punching me playfully in the arm.

"You too, hulk." At that he started pulling faces until I giggled. Godo cleared his throat loudly.

"Well I'm glad to see you are getting along so well but we really must get moving. I have prepared everything and you will be wed in 6 days time, until then, Kii, you are dismissed." Kii bowed low towards Godo and gave me another bear hug before he left.

He was just about to pull away when I whispered silently in his ear. "Invite me for a walk in half an hour." He looked down at me closely before nodding and walking back out the door.

"Well," started Godo,"that went better than I thought it would. I'm glad I chose Kii, he's strong and determined and perfectly behaved, a good influence I'm hoping." I tried to interject to tell him about the time he and I had snatched a few ales from the Turtle's Paradise Bar when we were thirteen, but Godo just carried on. "However in the meantime you will NOT be running away again, you hear me! I'm sick of this Yuffie and Chekov will now be guarding your door day and night! I am NOT letting you go off gallivanting across the world again for three years, not as long as there's still a breath in my body." He then dismissed me and had Chekov lead me back down to my little house where I waited for Kii to appear again.

About 15 minutes later I heard a loud knocking and jumped off my bed and ran for freedom. I swung the door open and grinned and Kii wildly.

He grinned back and asked politely, "would Miss Kisaragi like to join me on a walk around Da Chao?" He winked at me and held out his hand.

"Oh what a wonderful idea, I would be delighted!" I replied taking his hand in my own. Chekov didn't smell anything and just smiled politely at Kii. _Yes!_

We walked through the town laughing at stories we remembered and life since we last met. Turned out Kii was now teaching master classes and the pagoda for the younger teens, the last class we had been in together. He stopped when we were beneath the blossom tree I remembered so well and he asked me a question.

"So why did you want me to take you for a walk, you hate walking."

I sat down on the bench nearby and patted next to me for him to sit down to. "Truth is, I don't really want to get married."

"Tell me about it!" He laughed and sat down next to me. "I wondered why you were taking this so well, I thought you'd be going All Creation on Godo's ass!"

"Believe me I wanted to! He took all my materia and weapons away from before we entered the pagoda. I didn't have much choice, but now I've got them back." I said, bringing a couple of colourful globes out of my pocket and showing them to him.

"It must be so much fun to save the world..." He sighed and looked up at the sky before looking back at me. "But I'm not trying to break you outta here. I like my job, and my face." He joked.

"Aw come on, you don't want to marry me anyway, do you. Gawd, what happened to the fun loving adventure seeking Kii, he was so much more fun!" I stood up again and mocked a battle stance.

He got up in front of me slowly, and looked me straight in the eye. "You know your father going to go mental." A smile spread across his faced and I screamed and hugged him tightly.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" I shouted before running wildly into the forests behind us. "I won't forget this."

"Neither will I!" He shouted back and watched me descend further from Wutai and my nightmare wedding.

--

At least I'd gotten what I needed from Wutai, three elixirs, 7 restore materia I could pawn off at a local market, and enough gil to get into Cosmo Canyon reasonably safely. I was going to try and live with Nanaki and work there, he was the nearest to Wutai, bar Cid, and I knew Cid would make me tell him why I was running away and NOT let it go. So I jumped on the first boat I could find to the Cosmo Area and dreamt of a new life away from responsibility - whilst throwing up over the side of course.

It felt so wonderful to see the auburn cliffs of Cosmo Canyon coming into view on the horizon, we were nearly there! I could finally get off this God damn awful ship! I was just about to start jumping up and down when a mind blasting screech wailed from the shores._ What in hell was that? _The other passengers around me looked up and started whispering. Something wasn't right and we all knew it. The intercom system on the boat flared up and a hazy voice told us what was happening.

"This is your captain speaking, I'm sorry to say that due to some problems in the Canyon we're going to have to make a detour. Instead of heading South we are going to return North and then East to circle the continent down to Gongaga. Unfortunately no one will be able to visit the Canyon for the next few days as a dragon problem has emerged." My ears perked up. "This problem should be recovered in the next few days as some ex members of AVALANCHE have been dispatched to dispose of the problem."

_Awesome! A dragon! Finally a proper challenge! All I needed to do was persuade the captain to let me off and I could go help! But wait.._ I thought. _Why haven't I been asked to help?_ I had my PHS on me, it's not like they couldn't contact me. My eyes narrowed and I stormed off to the captain's room. There was no way they were doing this with out me and I was going to make sure of that.

"But I need to get off this ship now!" I wailed, the captain's old stone eyes starting back at me with no emotion.

"I'm sorry Miss but I can't let anyone off this ship, ex member of AVALANCHE or not, porting this ship could put the rest of the passengers and crew in great danger, you're just going to have to wait until we get Gongaga." With that he just turned around acted like I wasn't there.

Wrong choice.

I twirled a shuriken in my hand and thought about slitting the captains throat to teach him a lesson. But someone else walked in and stared at me so I let out a frustrated scream and stomped back out on deck. Now I had to endure another few days of feeling like I was going to throw up my lungs on this stupid ship while everyone else got to go and kill the dragon, how was that fair!?

Luckily I slept through most of the journey, waking up just as we passed the remains of the Temple of the Ancients and started to head West. The port was completely empty and the few people left in Gongaga looked at me from behind twitching curtains as I walked through the village and back out into the forests. It felt good to be free again, in the cool jungle I felt so at home in. I wouldn't of had any money left but everyone was given a free refund on the trip because of what had happened and now I had more than enough to get to the Canyon. But now I wasn't heading there, this time I had bigger fish to fry, and this fish was a huge dragon terrorising the villages in the area. _Man this is going to be fun!_

After about an hour of tracking the dragon, I finally heard a screech ring out through the forest not far in front of me. I raced forward pulling weapons into my right hand ready to fight and taking a battle stance. I couldn't hear much apart from the wind until my ears caught the sound of giant beating wings swooping down from behind. I realised too late to turn around and the beast clawed it's way down one of my arms. I yelped in pain and fell to floor with a thump. I lay still for a few minutes before finally the flapping wings faded into the distance an I sat up sharp. Looking down on my arm I knew how lucky I had been. The beast had caused huge rip down the lower part of my right arm and had tried to inflict poison on me but the ribbon tied around my other wrist had prevented any further damage. I could move my fingers okay but I screamed out in pain every single time I did and I could see my muscles and bones moving when I looked down at the cut.

That made me throw up...again.

I found an old shirt in my bag and ripped it into strips before wrapping around the gash tightly. This wasn't good, I was right handed and had no other mean of protecting myself apart from the materia that lay in my weapon. _Wait.. Where is my weapon?_

I fumbled around on the forest floor trying see where I had dropped it. Finally I caught sight of it lying back on one of the paths, it was covered in my blood. I held back a lurch to vomit and crawled towards my only means of defence.

But before I could reach it a pair of golden boots clicked into view beside it and a man in a huge red cape picked it up slowly.

"Vincent?"

"Miss Kisaragi."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:Thank you so much for the positive feedback! It's made me want to write even more!

"What the hell are you doing here?" I guessed he was also trying to kill the dragon with the rest of AVALANCHE but he was so going to have admit it in front of me.

He avoided my question."Miss Kisaragi, what have you done to your arm?"

"Oh just a dragon scratch, it's alright, I have a ribbon on me. Gawd don't looked so shocked I'll be fine, and it's Yuffie, thank you very much." I got up out my crawling-with-your-arm-broken-stumbling-around-the-floor-until-you-see-your-old-friend-standing-right-in-front-of-you position and dusted the dirt off my knees. _Wow, one hour in the forest and you're already bloodied up and dirty, must be a new record._

Even though I gave him my best smile he still looked concerned about my arm. The blood was now beginning to seep through the bandages. "...Why aren't you back in Wutai?" My eyes narrowed.

"Well I don't think that's any of your business Valentine, since you avoided MY question. So if you'll excuse me, I have a dragon to kill." With that I sniffed in the air walked past him in the direction I saw the dragon heading. I snatched back my weapon with a wince realising I used the wrong hand.

He watched the whole time, his blood red eyes boring into the back of my head, but didn't even bother trying to stop me. _Well if that's what he thinks of me, I'll go!_

I'd only walked a few steps before I felt a presence behind me, running behind me, and it sounded angry. I turned around just quick enough to block the attack heading my way, shocked to find that it Vincent advancing on me. "What are you doing?!" The pain in my arm burned fiercely as I tried to hold off the six foot man. If he didn't push away now, I knew the weak bones in my arm were going to snap like old burnt wood.

"I'm showing you how weak you really are, Yuffie. I don't think you realise how that wound is going to affect you."

"I'm fine!" I snapped and with a final push I was free. In the struggle my bandage had been unravelled and the true horror of my arm was put before Vincent.

He grabbed hold of my wrist and looked in terror at my forearm. "This is not good Yuffie, it's been badly fractured. If you put any more weight on it it's going to break in two."

"Well you shouldn't be making it any harder by forcing yourself on me! Gawd if you want it that bad Vince, I'm sure there are a couple of girls back in Gongaga who would be more than willing."

He gave me an impatient look. "This is not the time to be making jokes."

I held up my hands in surrender but that just made things worse, he saw my arm again.

"Look I'm sorry Yuffie but you _need _medical attention-"

I stopped him before he went into another one of those 'You need to take responsibility for yourself' speeches. "Alright, alright already! I'll go back to Gongaga and be back here before dawn, but don't think you can go killing that dragon by yourself, I'm helping you whether you like it or not." I thought that would get him off back. Not many people would be pleased to track round the forest with me, but I don't think he was even listening.

"You can't go back to Gongaga, that's the direction the dragon was heading, it's probably just torn the village up like all the other villages from here to Cosmo Canyon. We need to head that way if you want to keep you're arm." He started walking in the opposite direction.

After thinking through what he'd just said, I ran up behind him and asked a question that had been bugging me. "Why are you helping me?"

He sighed and looked up into the sky. "...Because it's what a gentleman would do."

I snorted, "You're not a gentleman, you're just scared of what Tifa'll do to you if you don't, aren't you Valentine?" I stuck my hands on my hips and gave him an evil grin.

"A little." He replied before stopping suddenly and handing me back the weapon he'd picked up earlier. "Here."

"Oh just toss it, it's not much use now anyway is it." I lifted my arm up.

He stared at it for a while before replying. "You're right." He threw my weapon off the dirt track and pulled a gun from one of his many belts. "You'll need something to defend yourself with if need be. Remember to use your left hand though." He placed the gun in my hand and carried on walking while he talked. "I will take you to Cosmo Canyon where Bugenhagen will be able to help you. The other villages around here have had so many casualties from dragon attacks, I don't think they will be able to take you."

"Alright! Yuffie and Vincent back on the road to save the world! Can we have noodles for tea?" My stomach started rumbling fiercely. To be honest it wasn't surprising considering how many times I'd thrown up.

"If you insist."

"Soooo how have you been, seen anyone from AVALANCHE recently?" I tried to look nonchalant about the whole thing but it really didn't work.

"No. But I was hoping to meet Nanaki in the forests at some point for help with the dragon-"

"Ah hah! I knew you all came here without me! You just admitted it! Well I can tell you now Vince, you're not all going to kill this dragon without me! I will always be a part of AVALANCHE!" I felt triumphant!

"..."

"So where is everyone hiding?" I gasped as a sudden thought entered my head. "Was this a surprise for me? Aw, were you trying to hide when I saw you? Well don't worry just go hide somewhere else and when everyone jumps out I'll act really really surprised, but you've got to tell me where they are!" By this point I was jumping up and down in front of Vincent while he stared at me incredulously. I almost felt bad for being annoyed at them for coming here without me. Almost.

Something started rustling in the bushes to the side of us and I squealed in delight. I ran towards it at full pelt before a firm hand struck my shoulder.

"Yuffie I don't think you should be doing that-"

"Oh come on Vinny," I shook his hand off continued towards the bush. "It's probably only Cloud! He always was bad at being subtle."

I pushed the leaves of the bush back quickly intending to scare whoever was hiding inside. Unfortunately there wasn't a person inside. Instead a giant, fat, slimy toad looked up at me, terrified. It's eyes narrowed slightly as it launched itself towards my face.

I was just about to scream when a ear blasting shot rang out through the forest. The toad froze in mid-air and then fell to the floor lifelessly. I looked round to see Vincent's gun smoking as he stared down at the palm sized toad.

My face went several shades redder before I started yelling at him at the top of my voice. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! YOU KNEW THERE WASN'T ANYONE THERE AND YOU STILL LET ME GO AND FIND THAT BIG-ASS TOAD! WHAT IF THE WIND HAD PICKED UP, YOU WOULD OF SHOT ME IN THE HEAD YOU IDIOT!"

He lowered his gun down and placed it back in it's holster before muttering something under his breath. "Unbelievable." Then he carried on walking as if nothing had happened.

"Oh yeah _I'm _the unbelievable one! You just nearly shot me in the head!" I stomped off after him, all the while telling him how annoying he was. It was fine though, I'm sure he was probably thinking the same thing.

--

After a while I started to calm down.

"So... there was no one hiding from me?" I asked, hoping he would still talk to me after all the mean things I had just said.

"No, Yuffie."

"And you weren't here with the rest of AVALANCHE trying to kill the dragon without me?"

He looked confused. "Where did you get that idea from?"

"The captain on the boat, he said there were some members of AVALANCHE dispatched to kill the dragon..." I felt a bit stupid by this point.

"Note the use of the word 'some'. Only myself and Nanaki were asked as we live the closest." Now I felt _really_ stupid.

--

The next few days were spent walking North towards the Gold Saucer, eventually we were supposed to head West and into Cosmo Canyon but we hadn't got that far yet. I didn't mind travelling, with Vincent I mean. It was a lot easier than being on my own and he helped a lot when it came to the things like cooking and fighting off enemies, they were almost impossible with my arm the way it was. Though the gun he gave me did come in handy the few times I needed to use it.

"How did you find out, about the dragon? Were you also asked to kill the dragon?" Vincent looked at me questioningly.

"No, I was running away from home when my boat had to take a detour because of it." I said this without thinking and immediately regretted it.

"Why were you running away from home?" He looked serious. Well, Vincent _always_ looks serious, but more so.

I didn't know how to reply. _Should I tell him about Godo's wish for me to be married?_ I didn't think he would mind that much, it was just... Well, was I actually going to get married? I wasn't planning on heading back there-obviously. Anyway, if someone else from AVALANCHE found out before Tifa, I knew she would go mental. "Uh...M-My father wants me to rule Wutai." It was the truth... Just not all of it.

"..." He looked as if he was thinking deeply so I just let him mull it over. I wasn't planning on telling him anything else any time soon. Turns out he wasn't thinking about what I'd said anyway. "I think we've gone too far North." I could hear a waterfall in the distance somewhere.

I was about to explode into another strop for getting us lost when he's been on the planet longer than God himself when a loud wail erupted across the trees. It was the dragon.

"Alright! Let's kill this sucker once and for all!" I started at a run before the same familiar hand was placed on my shoulder. "Aw come on Vince! After what it's done to the villages around here we should try and kill it before it make any more damage. It's right there and we have the element of surprise!" Huge wings swooped above us and landed only a few kilometres away in clearing with a spring in it.

He nodded his head and walked towards the clearing in front of us. I grinned and followed with a skip in my step, but when he noticed I had followed he turned sharply and looked me in the eye. "No Yuffie, stay here. With your weakness you might not be able to stand it's attacks. Just wait for me to return."

"Oh no you're not! You are not running off without me! I am killing dragon whether you like it or-"

"Please Yuffie!" The look in his eyes was so sorrowful, like he really did want me to stay.

I felt kind of bad, he was looking after me and taking me somewhere safe. The least I could do was stay that way... But I _had_ to know what was going on. I waited a few seconds after he'd gone before running after him. I got quite a shock when I came out the forest just by the sheer size of the spring. It ran off into a small river a little further East but straight ahead of me I could finally see the giant waterfall crashing down the cliffs that surrounded it. The dragon hovered above the water peacefully before letting out a blood-curdling scream when Vincent's first bullet pierced it's skin. I jumped behind a rock before it saw me and watched Vincent fight the winged beast. _He can do this. If he can defeat Sephiroth, he can kill this thing._ I remember thinking this, but it didn't make it any less scary to watch.

As I did I began to notice how good a fighter Vincent was. I mean, I'd been in battle with him thousands of times, but I'd never really watched him before. When something is trying to kill you, you don't generally sit and watch what your friends are doing... Unless you're in my situation. The accuracy in which he shot at was amazing. Even though the beast's head was twenty feet above his, he had blinded it with two shots and blown out one of it's nostrils already. It screamed again prepared to use some kind of magic on him.

He looked like he was ready for it, like he was ready to jump out of the way as soon as he needed to. But something caught his eye. I couldn't see what it was because the dragon was stopping my field of vision but Vincent's eyes were locked on so tightly he didn't see the blast coming. I screamed his name as loudly as I could but it was still too late. His eyes widened as the gust of air hit him at full pelt and knocked him against the wall harshly. I can still hear the sound of his head smacking against the cold rock in my mind. He was out cold.

I couldn't reach him in time to lift him away from the next attack the dragon was preparing but I knew it didn't know I was here. I sprang from behind the boulder and shot at it few times with my left hand. It definitely wasn't as precise as Vincent's attacks were but distracted it from using it's magic enough to let me get a clear shot of it's eye. I hit in exactly the same place as Vincent had, causing it even more pain before it flew off in defeat. I knew it wouldn't be long before it came back for revenge.

As soon as it's tail faded from my vision I jumped down onto the grass below and ran towards Vincent's now still body. After calling his name a few times I knew he wasn't going wake up, I also knew the dragon could come back at any moment... I looked around for a place to hide but the cliffs circled the spring and the forest we were hidden in before was almost at the other side. Even then the dragon could still get to us.

The waterfall. Sometimes in Wutai there were caves on the other side. I knew it was a long shot but it was near enough to get to relative safety before that thing came back. I tried to pick him up but failed miserably and instead opted to drag him there by one of his feet.

...It wasn't the most dignified way of doing things, but what did he care? He was unconscious!

It was hard work and the golden boots he loved so much were slippery under my now sweaty and exhausted hands, but finally I made it to the edge of the waterfall. I wasn't really sure how I was going to get him through without plunging him into the icy water below but I tried my best. Grabbing him under the shoulders I pulled him through fall, while the water hammered down onto my clothes soaking them through. I was so relieved not to find a hard wall behind it that I tripped on a small rock inside the cave and fell on my butt hard. Vincent's feet still lay under the waterfall, so, grumbling miserably about the state of my clothes, I got back up and pulled him further into the strange cave.

I sighed heavily when Vincent started coughing up water and turning onto his side. His eyes cracked open slightly. "Yuffie?" It must have been all the cold water on his face that made him wake up.

"No it's Cloud, I decided to dress up like Yuffie for a laugh." He looked confused. "Of course it's me you idiot! You hit you're head on the side of the cliff when you spaced out in the middle of a fight! Gawd, and then I have to drag you ALL the way in here just for you to wake up again. Look at me Vince! I'm soaked through!" I wouldn't show it but I was kind of worried about his head.

"I...spaced out?" He looked deep in thought before sitting up sharply. "We were...we were there, next to her..." He stopped talking and looked behind me, frozen on the spot.

"We were where Vince?" I followed his line of vision to the cave behind us. I'd never really looked at it but when I did, I saw how beautiful it was. Crystals lined the edges and sparkled in the light coming from behind the wall of water. Nothing but the sound of the waterfall could be heard in this little place of serenity. Moments later I noticed an alter at the other end of the cave. Light shone up from behind onto the crystals that had frozen a women inside.

"Aw come on!"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm so glad that people like this story!

The light shone off her silky brown hair in perfection, an angel of innocence. _How could that be? She's an evil cow!_ I sighed at my stupidity and slumped down against a crystal at the side of the cave.

"The one place you decide to go." I mumbled to myself. "You just had pick this place. With Vincent of all people! Vincent!" I pushed my head in my hands and kind of wished we were back outside facing the dragon. Anywhere would be better than here.

"Lucrecia." I watched as Vincent stood up, wobbling slightly, and walk towards the altar. His boots clicked on the rocky floor as his claw scraped against one of the crystals on his left. Slowly he reached his hand out and tried to touch her face, but there was a crystal blocked him from doing so. It was like he was in some kind of trance. Silently he started tapping on the crystal, getting louder and louder as he increased the strength he exerted on it. Soon he was trying to smash it, both his arms punching the crystal with all his might. His eyes looked sad but his actions said otherwise. I didn't know what to do.

"Vincent..." He stopped at the sound of my voice and leaned again the crystal, his breath still heavy.

He crouched down with his head in his hands and roared so loudly, the stalactites on the ceiling shook and hung down precariously. I knew that roar. It was the roar of Chaos. His body twitched and started shaking as the transformation started. I was stuck between a dragon and a beast. I decided to stay in the end, I'd been in battle with Chaos before, but he'd always have something to focus his destructive nature on before. Whereas now, I was the only thing living in that cave, I took a step back.

The wings on his back ripped through his red cape and stretched out across the cave. Chaos stood up and stared up at Lucrecia frozen form. I couldn't see his face, just the silhouette of a man's body and wings.

"...Vincent?" I called out again. Chaos' head whipped round and sneered slightly. I tried to take another step backwards but Chaos took flight towards me and slammed me hard against the cave wall. A stalactite dropped from the ceiling and shattered before Lucrecia. I struggled to try and get free of him but he already had me by the neck. His grip like a vice against the rocks, he could have ripped my head off with the blink of an eye. Chaos studied my body up and down before finally locking eyes with me. I shuddered at the thought of the man who saved the world being one with the monster in front of me. I couldn't see Vincent anywhere, anywhere but the eyes. They were still his blood red ones, sorrowful and pleading to be free again instead of trapped inside something not human. The look of terror in my eyes must have been enough for Chaos as moments later he let go of my throat and flew to the top of the cave and into darkness.

I felt my legs buckle and fell to my hands and knees. It was just such a shock. One minute Vincent had been there and the next Chaos. Were they really that similar. There must have been something of Vincent in there otherwise he would have just killed me... Wouldn't he? I took these thoughts in and hugged my legs against my body.

A few minutes later I jumped as something smashed at my feet. Another fell behind me and then two on either side. More stalactites. I looked up and saw in the fading light that the whole roof was shaking. I heard the dragon outside. It was jumping on the cliffs trying to lure us out of our hideaway. I couldn't see anywhere to hide from the deadly spears that were now falling all around me. I wouldn't be able to fight off the dragon outside by myself and Chaos was nowhere to be seen, who knows if he would even help me. I stood helpless in Lucrecia's cave while the world around me swirled. I could now see a green gas slowly seeping in through the waterfall that I recognised as poison. This dragon was really starting to get on my nerves now!

I ran to the furthest part of the cave trying to escape the poison. It wouldn't damage me permanently because of my ribbon, but it would at least knock me out for a few hours, leaving me helpless against the onslaught of stalactites heading my way. I coughed and chocked as the poison reached the outside areas of the cave and a dizziness entered my brain. I couldn't see straight and I felt my temperature rising by the second. Suddenly I looked up to see a piece of rock falling straight towards my head. I tried to move my legs but they stayed exactly where they were, the poison was stopping my legs responding to my brain. I looked up again to see the same rock whistling through the air towards me ready to smash into my head. I gave up hope.

I closed my eyes in an attempt to block out the despair surrounding me and felt a heavy weight hit hard. I was confused, it didn't come from above, it came from my side. I heard the rock shatter harmlessly to one side of me as I felt myself being carried further away from the crashing stalactites. Something placed me in the corner of the cave and let go. I opened my eyes heavily and looked up at my saviour._.. Chaos?_ He looked down at me and spread his wings out fully, protecting me with his body. I smiled at him curiously and felt my eyelids drop again. Vincent really was still in there, he still remembered me!

--

I woke up a couple of hours later, my head pulsed under my eyes and I felt groggier than ever. I waited a few moments before I opened my eyes to see the full force of the dragon's impact. The crystal cave's beauty was now shattered under the destruction. The path that had been there hours before was now covered in rubble and bits of crystal, just like the rest of the cave. The only bits not covered in dust were Lucrecia's crystal altar and my protected capsule. I wasn't being sheltered any more though.

Chaos was gone and instead been replaced by a sleeping Vincent by my side, his hand still wrapped around my waist trying to protect me from whatever might attack me while he was asleep. I smiled at that and snuggled into his sleeping body, it felt nice.

He stirred slightly at my movement and opened one eye sheepishly. I looked up at him and giggled. "What happened?" He groaned, bringing one of his hands up to his forehead.

"You turned into Chaos." I stated, well I'm not exactly going to lie about it!

"What?!" He sat up sharply and looked down on me worriedly. "Did I hurt you? You shouldn't of stayed here, I could've killed you!"

"Oh relax Vince, you wouldn't hurt me." I failed to tell him about the whole pinning-me-against-the-wall-by-my-neck fiasco. "You saved my life."

"I... I did?" He always thought Chaos was a creature completely free of it's own will, but I'm living proof that it wasn't.

"Yeah the dragon came back and was all pissed and started like stomping on the ceiling making all those rocks fall down and then Chaos came and protected me from it all... And anyway you couldn't have killed me, I'm just too smart for you!" I stuck my tongue out and kicked a leg in the air like I'd been taught to and showed him my amazing ninja moves. "Pow! Pow! Pow!"

I thought I saw him smile before he slumped back onto the floor next to me mumbling. "Same old Yuffie." I thought that was a bit harsh.

"Hey! Would the same old Yuffie had saved your life? I don't think so, the old Yuffie would've left you outside for the dragon to eat! I'm a little more grown up... Aren't I?" I looked at him questioningly.

"You've changed a bit, though you're still not doing as you're told, and you're still lying." His face turned to mine so we were almost nose to nose on the floor of the cave.

Okay, he was right about me not doing what I was told (not staying in the forest), but when had I lied? "I haven't lied to you!" I was a bit angry now. He had no right to say that.

"Yes you did, back in the forest when you said you'd run away because your father wanted you to rule Wutai."

"That was the truth." So I was lying about lying, but he didn't know that!

"No, it wasn't. Yuffie we've known each other for quite a while now, I know when you're lying... Why did you really run away?" His eyes bore into mine.

I wanted to tell him, I really did! But... I knew I couldn't, I'd already gone a week or two without telling him. If I told him now things would just be really awkward. I looked up into his eyes. "I _was_ telling the truth!"

With that he seemed to let it go but it didn't stop me from feeling bad. I turned away from him quick so he wouldn't see guilty look on my face. _Yuffie Kisaragi! The Great Liar!_

I felt his claw in my hand and he squeezed it tight. I got a warm feeling in my heart when he did this and turned back round to look at him. He had a strange look in his eyes... _Is he going to kiss me? _I pulled myself closer to him and leaned in.

Right at that moment we both heard a howl just outside and jumped. A red figure close to the ground waded through the waterfall and into the cavern.

"Nanaki." I heard Vincent say, but he seemed much further away. I turned my attention back to him to find him standing against the wall with his arms crossed about three feet away from me. I thought about shouting at him about it but I decided instead to say hi to Red.

"RED!" I screamed and ran over the debris that separated us. I cuddled into his warm, but very wet after walking through the waterfall, fur and smiled as I heard his voice vibrating under my ear.

"It's good to see you too, Yuffie." I heard Vincent's footsteps behind me as he made his way towards the two of us and greeted Nanaki.

"What happened in here." Nanaki surveyed the damage to the cave and looked at Vincent for answers.

"I don't know, I turned into Chaos shortly after entering, but apparently the dragon tried to attack us from above." Vincent still stayed a safe distance away from me.

"You transformed into Chaos?! Yuffie are you alright?" He pulled away from me just as Vincent had before.

"Oh both of you, stop making such a big deal out of this! I'm _fine_! But what happened to the dragon?" I was wondering how Nanaki had managed to get here without being ripped to pieces.

"The dragon has been dealt with. When I found it, it was blinded and tired. One sled fang and he was finished. I must thank you two for wearing him down. But I must ask, Yuffie, if Chaos didn't hurt you, what happened to your arm?" Red looked concerned at my wound that was now covered in a gruesome scab with a bit of dust and dirt stuck in it from sleeping on the floor.

Vincent answered this question. "That is from the dragon, not myself. I was accompanying Yuffie to Cosmo Canyon for treatment when the dragon attacked us again." He wouldn't look at me again, just the floor.

"In that case we'd better get you there as soon as possible." Nanaki jumped back through the wall of water and onto the grass on the other side.

I was about to jump through myself when I noticed Vincent looking back up at Lucrecia. "You coming Vince?" I shouted above the wail of the water.

He stayed perfectly still for a few moments before looking back at me."...Yes"

--

We travelled back through the forest and to Cosmo Canyon without much trouble. There were only a few fights and it was a even easier with another member of AVALANCHE by our side. This time we didn't get lost though and I pointed this out several times to Vincent. He didn't find it that funny.

Finally after another three days we reached Nanaki's village and my arm was finally treated. Bugenhagen found an elixir hidden behind one of his books and let me have it. It meant my arm was good enough to use my weapons again in the next half an hour. I was so pleased I ran back into the market to find Vincent.

"Vinny!" I yelled above the sounds of the busy people. He was buying something from a fruit stall when I found him. "Vinny! Look at my arm! Bugenhagen fixed it!" I ran around him and showed off my fighting skills again now that I could use them. "Can we go kill things in the forest again? I really wanna use my weapons again!" I was just about to drag him out of the market when something caught my arms from behind. I struggled with the unforeseeable force but my weapons and materia were still back on my bed in the inn.

Vincent pulled out his gun and pointed behind me. "Let the Lady go." He demanded. My heart skipped a beat when he called me a Lady, he didn't think I was just some dumb kid!

"Yeah jackass!" I stamped on his foot hard but he still didn't let go of me.

"Put your weapon down sir or I'll have you arrested." I swallowed hard when I realised who's voice it was. Godo.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I shouted, now struggling even more viciously to get a look at my father who was standing behind me.

"I am here to take you home! What kind of a way was that for a Princess to behave?! Honestly!" The person behind me, who I now recognised was Gorkii, let me turn to face Godo.

"Let her go now Godo, you can't force her to rule Wutai." Vincent still hadn't lowered his gun from Godo's head.

"I don't think you should be saying that to someone who could get you thrown in jail!" Godo's voice roared above the market. "She needs to be married and she will be! To someone with a sensible enough mind not to go running after dragons!" I stop breathing when he said the word married.

"..." Vincent looked at me. "You're getting married?" He chocked out, his voice no louder than a whisper.

I tried to reply but Godo decided to do that for me. "Of course she is! She's a princess! She can't rule Wutai without a husband you fool!" Vincent started to lower his weapon.

"Vincent I'm sorry! I wanted to tell you but-" I was cut off again by Godo.

"Shut up you brat!" Okay now I was pissed. "You are coming home now and that's that. Gorkii!" He walked off towards a cart I could see waiting for him the distance. I was now being pulled in that direction as well.

I looked back round to Vincent.

But he was already gone.

A/N: I know the last few Chapters have been uploaded quickly but that was because I already had two chapters ready when I posted it and I was off school ill today. It probably won't be until the weekend when I have time again to post the next Chapter. Thanks again! x


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Ahh this is so much fun! After I've finished this I might start another story just because I love the rush you get when someone reviews your work! This is the penultimate Chapter I think, but we'll see how things go :) By the way, this Chapter doesn't have much Vincent, and Yuffie's a bit mushy.

********

The sun had already risen high on the skies of Wutai. I was 16 again. The wind flew through my boyish haircut and I worried I would never see another day like this. It was the day I had to face Godo in the pagoda by myself. _I can't do this. I'm not good enough._

I breathed in the fresh spring air and sat back down on the wooden bench. I didn't know where the others had gone but I was glad for the peace and quiet, I was also glad there was no one here to see me cry. My mother had made me promise to restore Wutai's honour, was I up to such a major task? I hadn't known back then but I really, really didn't want to be stuck in Wutai my whole life. I wanted to adventure with my friends and live life to the full, not be scared of being shot by terrorists.

Someone coughed loudly behind me and I jumped. "Oh, Vincent, what are you doing here? Where's Cloud and the others?" I wiped the tears streaming down my face furiously and looked around for other observers of my meltdown.

"I don't know where Cloud is. I split myself from the group to find some peace." He walked up to me and sat down as well. It was a little squashy with the both of us, but it comforted me in a weird way. "Why are you crying?" It must have been a bit of a shock to him, I was always so hyper and happy and... annoying!

That was the last straw of me. I wailed into his clock and let loose everything that had been beating me up inside. The smell of Vincent filled my nostrils as I talked. "I can't take it any more! I just can't do it! Aerith's dead! My mother's dead! Everyone hates me because I stole all their materia and now I have to fight my dad! I can't win! I can't.. I-I can't do it!" I shuddered and cried even more as the words flew out of my mouth without a second thought.

Vincent held me still while I wept and waited silently for me calm down. "You have your whole life ahead of you, you shouldn't be crying."

"B-But I can't do it! I can't face him on my own! I'll die! It's hopeless!" I broke into more fits of tears before Vincent pulled my head up to face him.

"Listen to me. Nothing is ever hopeless. No matter how hard the task may seem, you should always try." It was then that he stopped looking at me. Instead he stared behind my head with a far away look in his eyes. "...Even if you are destined to fail."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know that much about Vincent Valentine. He always kept to himself while we were travelling and had never really told us his story. I know now that he was referring to Lucrecia, but even though I had no clue then, I wrapped my arms around him silently and waited patiently for him to come around.

"Thank you Yuffie..." He whispered it gently in my ear before pulling away and standing back up. He cleared he throat thoroughly and spoke in his normal monotone voice again. "We must find Cloud."

I smiled as I knew it was the end of our special moment. "I know where they'll be!" I jumped up ran round to face him. "Getting ice cream!"

********

I woke up in a cold sweat. I would always remember that moment, but I'd never dreamt about it before.

The room around me smelt of incense and I felt silk sheet beneath my fingertips. My eyes darted around the room helplessly before I figured out where I was. Wutai. There was blood in my mouth and a large round bump on the side of my head, even without memory of it, I knew what had happened.

Godo had tried to push me into the carriage by force. But this was a hard thing to do when the door was small and I could do the splits quite easily. I kicked and thrashed about, screaming at the top of my voice for help. In the end Gorkii couldn't take it any more and called for someone to help. I could see Nanaki in the corner of my eye racing towards us furiously, but then everything went black.

My mind suddenly flashed back to the moments just before and I remembered what had happened with Vincent. I clung to the sheet desperately and cried at how stupidly I had behaved. _If I had just told him, he wouldn't have disappeared like that, and I wouldn't be stuck in this place!_

After a while I calmed down again and thought of my options. I could run for the door. I could jump out the window. Or just stay here and be married to someone I don't love, but don't hate. Well, first option first. I crawled off the bed and crept towards the door as quickly as possible, I had no idea what time of day it was, but inside was almost pitch black. I opened the door slightly and gasped at the light streaming through._ Okay, it's definitely day!_ I waited for a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the blinding light before seeing two armed guards staring at me.

"Can we help you Miss Kisaragi?" The guard looked at me. I looked down at the gun in his hand.

"Er sorry, I was looking for the... bathroom." I swung the door shut and thought hard. Godo really didn't want me to leave.

I flicked the light switch on and it blinked noisily above my head. I looked around the room for some kind of a window but found myself empty handed. This room had been chosen perfectly for me. The only windows there were high above my head and only a hand span wide. I jumped up the walls stealthily and tried to squeeze through the tiny gap. It was no good, I was never getting through there, and even if I could Godo had placed even more guards under each window. There was no way out.

I heard a knock on my door. "Miss Kisaragi? Your fiancé is here to talk to you." With one small jump, I was back on the floor and dusting myself off.

"Come in!" This was my final chance, I had to get Kii to help me get out of here.

The door opened and Kii walked into my prison with his head down. I could see a sad look in his eyes.

Nonetheless, it was time for me work my magic! "Hey! Long time no see! How've ya been? I know! Why don't we go on a little walk around Wutai and catch up!" I winked at him and grinned.

"No Yuffie." His voice had none of the passion I used to know.

"Oh come on! It will be fun!" I speaking extra loudly for the two guards outside to hear our 'innocent' conversation.

"I said no!" His voice was firm, and a little scary. I looked at him properly then and realised how different he was. The muscles on his body were weak and lanky. He wasn't the Kii I used to know.

"Come on Kii, what's wrong?" I whispered. He was my only means of escaping.

"Stop it Yuffie, just stop it! I am not helping you escape! You have a duty to do, and you can't run away from it any more, Godo would just find you again anyway."

"Not me! I am the Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi!" I shouted, and I wouldn't be stupid enough to get caught again.

"Yuffie! I'm not joking around! Sometimes people need to grow up, your time is now." He looked up at me for the first time and I gasped in horror. His face was pale and drawn with grey tired eyes that had lost their spark. A new scar had appeared on his right side, slicing through the middle of his eye and ending at his jaw. It was bloody still and the skin around his eye was puffed up and purple.

"Who did that to you?" I had a feeling I already knew but the thought of Godo striking Kii for letting me go was unbearable.

"Does it matter? You're here now and this is where you must stay. I'm sorry Yuffie, but I can't ignore your father's rules." He hugged me softly but it lacked any need. I was so shocked at his face that I just let him but gave no reply. "I have persuaded him to let you invite your friends for the ceremony, I know how much they mean to you. Also, you will be allowed to handle weapons again, Godo was going to forbid it but I convinced him otherwise." He let go of me and looked down at my frozen figure. "The ceremony is in two days. Until then, goodbye." He left room as he had entered and closed the door behind him. I was stuck.

--

That night I decided that I was going to invite AVALANCHE. If I did ever see them again, I thought they wouldn't be too happy if they didn't know.

"Hi Tifa, it's Yuffie." Most of my personal belongings were back in Cosmo Canyon but I had kept my phone in my pocket. I had no signal, but there was a telephone on my bedside table. Probably being tapped but oh well.

"Yuffie! How are you, I haven't spoken to you in weeks! Are you okay, you sound different?" Her kind voice made me smile again, I had missed her a lot since we last spoke.

"Yeah I'm fine. But listen, I have some news that might come as a bit of a shock." She waited silently for me to finish. "I'm getting married."

I heard nothing for a few seconds before the frenzy began. I held the earpiece back a bit whilst waiting for her screaming to stop. I'm sure she was saying something, but it was hard to try and pick up what. Something along the lines of 'I'm so happy for you' and ' I need a new dress'.

"I was also wondering... Would you mind... being my Maid of Honour?" I wasn't really that close with Tifa, but after everything that's happened, she's the closest thing I have to a best friend. I held the phone back again as more screaming fought through the phone. I swear I heard Cloud in the background telling her to shut up but I can't be sure.

"Um, I'll take that as a yes. Well, the wedding's in two days, please bring Cloud, and Denzel and Marlene. I'll see ya Teef." I hung up before she could reply and stared up at the ceiling. This was going to be a tough night.

Next I called Cid and Shera, they said they could make it easily and would pick everyone up beforehand. Then I called Nanaki and Barret. They were surprised to say the least but agreed to come. Reeve was also happy to make it.

I looked down my list of friends and dreaded the next person I was going to have to call. Vincent. Luckily, he didn't pick up. But I still had to leave him an awkward message.

"Hey Vince, it's Yuffie. Um so yeah, I'm sorry about what happened and everything. I wasn't planning on coming back to Wutai until Godo had died but... now I'm here... I have to get married. The weddings in two day so please come, Cid will pick you up and stuff so... see you there?... Bye." I groaned into the pillow as I hung up. That was possibly the worst message I could have ever sent him.

The only thing left to do was sit and wait for my friends to come, maybe they could finally help me.

--

I woke up late hearing the knock on my door. The bump on my head still really hurt but there wasn't much I could do about it now. I sat up and shouted that whoever it was could come in.

I wish I hadn't.

The room burst into life as at least 12 people crammed through my door at once and started fussing over me immediately. Tifa ran to my side smiling and laughing with Shera at her shoulder with a large bump in her tummy. Marlene and Denzel jumped onto my bed and hugged me before shouting numerous questions in my ears. Nanaki nuzzled my left hand and smiled warmly at my shocked face. Cloud, Reeve and Barret stood near the end of my bed and looked awkwardly at each other, not really knowing what to do or say. As well as most of AVALANCHE, four women dressed in traditional clothing walked in and stood by the door. One brought me breakfast.

_Where the hell to start?! _I waited patiently for another person to walk in... but he never came. "Where's Vincent?" I looked around at the now speechless room but no one answered my question for a few moments.

Tifa took my right hand and shook her head slowly. She knew how much Vincent had meant to me.

I stayed still for a few seconds trying to push this news aside before looking over suspiciously at the strange women who had given me my breakfast. When they saw me looking they stared down at their feet and backed away from me. I pushed the tray aside. "Right, so when are we breaking outta here!"At that moment they all decided to gaze down at their feet as well, was the carpet that amazing? "Oh come on!" I shouted.

"We're sorry Yuffie, but they wouldn't let us bring any weapons or materia through the boundaries. They made Cid park his ship miles away." Nanaki looked up at me hesitantly and immediately looked down. I was not happy.

"They confiscated you're weapons?! You're freakin' AVALANCHE! The guys that killed Sephiroth! Twice! Tifa and Nanaki don't even use weapons! Gawd Barret, yours is attached to your freakin' arm!" I screamed.

"Don't look at me brat! They took all the bullets out!" This comment was from Barret. It was weird to hear him call me a brat again.

"Sorry Yuffie, but we can't help." Shera looked over at me shyly, I think she was a bit scared.

I sighed loudly. "Well... thanks for coming anyway... I don't think I could go through this at all without you guys..."

"No problem kid, wouldn't miss this for the world. You in a !%$!? dress! Ha!"

"Shut up Cid! Anyway what have you done to Shera!? Jeez I leave you two alone for three seconds and THAT happens!" I said pointing at her bump. "Grossness."

Shera laughed heartily and walked over to Cid who put his arm around her waist.

"I-I'm sorry to interrupt." It was one of the women. "But we need to measure you and your friend." She said pointing at Tifa.

I smiled at my friends and nodded at the woman. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." I mumbled. One by one they left the room saying goodbye, Tifa being lead by one of the women to have her measurements taken for her dress. Nanaki was the last to leave. "Red!" He turned around and walked back to my side. I was only wearing a t-shirt under the covers so I couldn't get up.

"Yes Yuffie."

"What." I hesitated to ask. But I took a deep breath and tried again. "What happened.. after I left...?" I was fiddling with the sheet and not looking at Nanaki. I was too nervous.

"I ran back to find Vincent, but he was gone. When I went up to your room all his things were packed and gone and there was a small note on the side. It said not to look for him. I still went looking, in Lucrecia's cave and up in Nibelheim, but there was no trace. I'm sorry Yuffie, I should have helped you sooner." I felt really bad, he'd gone through a lot to help me.

I ruffled his fur and told him not to worry. "I can get through anything!" I laughed.

He didn't look as if he believed me but he smiled anyway. "I also brought you the belongings you left. The guards took away the materia in there, and there wasn't any weapons, but everything else is there. It's on your desk." He nodded towards the table to my left and padded out the room. "Farewell."

"Miss Kisaragi, are you free for your measurements now?" I glared at the three women left in the room.

"Does it look like I anything else to do?!" I snapped. I was not going to go through this willingly.

--

I tossed and turned through the night but didn't sleep much. I was so scared. I couldn't get married! If I got married I couldn't travel, I couldn't have fun, I couldn't be Yuffie Kisaragi any more...

I was so awake that started pacing up and down my room. There was no way to get out and no one to come and save me. I was going to have to go through with it.

After a while something caught my eye. It was the bag Nanaki had dropped off for me. I rummaged through it to see if there was anything useful. Nothing. Just spare clothes and food I had brought with me. My materia had been taken out and Vincent had left my only weapon back in the forest near Gongaga. _Wait..._ I remembered the gun Vincent had given me. Being the ninja I am, I had put it somewhere no one would find it if I got searched. Clever Yuffie. I took out the instant noodles cup and pealed away the lid carefully. After a few seconds of plunging my hands into the dry noodles, I found the handle of the gun. I opened the cartridge and prayed on Leviathan that there would be enough bullets to get me out of here. I only found one.

I threw the gun across the room in frustration and searched deeper in my bag. _There must be something!_ My hand came across a small note of screwed up paper. I unfolded it to find Vincent's neat handwriting.

_Don't come looking for me._

_Vincent._

I cried myself to sleep again.

--

Soon it was morning and five more women looking the same as they had yesterday came in sheepishly. It was fair to say I hadn't given them the easiest of times, but they were the ones forcing me to get married!

No sooner had I finished my breakfast, I heard a knock at my door. It was Godo.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I held my head high and scowled at the man forcing into marriage.

"I know you don't exactly want to see me right now-"

"Oh really, I thought you hadn't noticed." The calm expression in his face was fading fast.

"I just wanted to tell you that am proud of you, and to give you this." He held out a package wrapped up in white tissue paper. I snatched it off him and sat down on the bed to open it.

I carefully tore away the paper to reveal a white piece of clothing underneath.

"It was your mother's. She wore it when we were married. I thought you would want to wear it so it was altered to fit you..."

I unfolded it slowly and held it up against myself. It was so beautiful. The neck line was V-shaped with long sleeves that hung down to the floor and was pearl white and silky with pale pink blossom flowing down the length. I had seen pictures of my mother in this, but nothing compared to the real thing. I didn't look back at Godo, instead I just stared at myself in the mirror.

"Yuffie, no matter what you might think, I did love your mother. Maybe not on our wedding day, but I grew to love her in time, and I believe the same will happen between you and Kii." I didn't reply.

We stood there for a few minutes and took in the father daughter bonding that had just taken place. It wasn't much, but probably the closest Godo and I would ever get. Later some man came in and told my father it was an hour until the ceremony started. He left without a word.

I told the women to leave as I could get dressed and ready myself. They nodded and left without a word, I think they were pretty pleased to see the back of me.

The dress look even more amazing on. I couldn't believe it was me staring back in the mirror. I put on the shoes I had been given and sat on the bed, waiting to be collected. I was so bored. I glanced around the dark room in dismay, there was nothing to help me. But then I caught sight of the gun again and I started to wonder if my eyes had been deceiving themselves the night before. I snatched up the gun from where it had been hiding under my dresser and reached for the cartridge again. There was still only one bullet.

I sat heavily on the bed and tried to think as much as possible. Suddenly an idea struck me. I reached back in my bag for the holster for the gun and strapped around my arm. I put the gun in just under my wrist and looked back in the mirror. The long sleeves on my mother's dress covered it up perfectly and with my bouquet in hand, no one could look up the sleeves and see it.

At that moment someone knocked lightly on my door. It was Tifa. "Are you ready?" She said.

I nodded slightly and followed her out the door and to the gardens behind the pagoda.

This was it. The thing I had been struggling against since I was 16.

Tifa walked in front of me and smiled at the people around her. I looked around nervously and saw Cloud in the corner. He was glowing slightly at the sight of Tifa, his mouth hanging down somewhere near his boots. I would have laughed non-stop if I wasn't there next to her. Denzel had exactly the same expression on his face too.

Marlene looked up at me admiringly, I could tell she wanted to touch my dress but Barret sat there and held her hand with a slight tear in his eye. I really had to hold back the laughter bubbling in my throat at that one.

Shera was also crying, Cid still attached to her waist with a hidden smile beneath his cigarette. Nanaki stood next to them. He looked at me and nodded.

Before I knew it we were half way up to the altar and Tifa was already waiting at the top with Kii. He looked just like he had before, drawn and tired. I felt so bad that it was my fault he had lost his spark.

My father watched me from the side, glaring slightly. He was so worried about his reputation, he didn't care what I wanted at all. I swallowed as I reached the top.I looked at Tifa for support but I don't think she saw me, she was still staring at Cloud's stunned expression.

_I'm gonna hurl. I'm gonna hurl. I'm gonna hurl. I'm gonna hurl!_

I pressed the gun up against my chest just to check that it was still there, my only way out. The priest started mumbling in Wutain and heart slowly sank. What life was I supposed to have after this, what life would I lead stuck in Wutai with someone I didn't love?

I couldn't do it. I just couldn't.

I walked between Kii and the priest and looked up at him.

A gun shot rang through the gardens.

Blood ran down my mother's dress.

Kii looked me, petrified.

A red cape fluttered behind his head.

A/N: Okay this was kind of a long one, but I thought it would be better than making two short ones. Please review :) Last Chapter to be posted on Sunday or Monday. H t t p : / / w w w dot y o u t u b e dot c o m / w a t c h ? v = e e 5 e A r v o O A o take out the spaces and replace the 'dot's with actual dots and that's of the best Yuffentine video I've seen! x


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This Chapter's dedicated to my reviewers! If they didn't review I don't think I would've carried on with this fic! Last Chapter, hope you like it!

_What's going on? What's happening?_

I could still feel the gun up my sleeve but blood was covering my mother's dress. Kii slumped against me, trying to breathe but failing. I looked down the isle to see Vincent, the barrel of his gun smoking from the shot that had just hit Kii in the stomach.

Everyone around me was silent. No one moved in shock of what had just happened. I looked down at Kii to see his eyes glazing over with tears. Blood poured out of his wound and he touched the hole in his side as if to see if it was real. If I had been standing an inch to the right, I would have been shot as well. After gasping a few more times he reached up to my face and stroked my cheek with his bloody hand.

"Goodbye...my white rose of Wutai."

"No!" I shouted. At that moment all hell broke loose. Two guards ran to my side and blocked me from Vincent. I was carried away screaming as I heard guards shooting further away. _Did he get away? _Out of the corner of my eye I saw doctors from the village surrounding Kii's body and trying to resuscitate him. AVALANCHE were also being pushed by soldiers out of the grounds, Godo thought they were responsible.

"This was your doing wasn't it!" Godo was shouting in my ear. He had two guards holding onto my arms and escorting me away from the mayhem. "How dare you get your stupid _vampire_ friend to kill the only man suitable to take over from me! You think it's okay to just murder someone and get away with it?!"

I pushed one of the guards off my arm and turned to face my incompetent father. "You know what Godo?" I took one step towards him and slammed my fist into his nose until I heard a crunch. Godo stepped back in surprise and stared at me. "He's not a vampire."_ Ass kicking time!_ I let loose the anger pent up inside of me and used it to strike Godo between the ribs, he fell backwards with a gasp. Next the two guards tried to grab my arms again and so I hurled my leg round and smacked them both in the face, they were knocked unconscious. I smiled looking down on my handiwork before setting off at a run back towards the crowds._ I've still got it!_

Something caught hold of my throat fiercely, pulling me back. "You know, I always hated kids." Godo's voice chilled me to the bone. He was pulling me higher and higher in the air, making it harder to breathe. "When your mother told me she was pregnant I was outraged. But now seeing you, I know the truth. You're not my child, you never were and you never will be. Your mother was just sleeping around like the dirty slut you are to become."

_Click._

"How dare you." Vincent looked calm, but anger had hardened his eyes as he held Godo at gunpoint. Godo slowly turned his head to see the barrel of a gun pointing between his eyes. He made a small yelping noise before dropping me and running towards the pagoda screaming for his followers.

I fell limply to the floor coughing and spluttering helplessly. I felt the pure air run in through my lungs again and thanked Leviathan I was still alive. A cold, metal hand reached out onto my shoulder.

"...Yuffie."

I immediately jumped up to face him. "Don't you Yuffie me mister! What the hell was that?! Gawd, you disappear when my father's kidnapping me, don't contact anyone for several days, nearly shoot me when I'm about to stop my wedding, and then hold my father at gunpoint!"

His eyebrows knitted together and he stared at me as if I was dumb. "He was trying to kill you Yuffie, why are you over-reacting?"

He had some nerve! _Why am I __**over-reacting**__?!_ "VINCENT! You shot my husband! I think I'm allowed to be a bit OTT! I mean look at me!" Kii's blood was covering my chest and face, whilst Godo's blood dried into my hand.

He was silent for a few moments. "...Technically...he was your fiancé, you weren't married yet-"

"VINCENT!" I was breathing heavily by now. I hadn't realised where we were but I saw a cherry blossom tree in the corner of my eye. The one that Kii had so many memories in, and the one Vincent and I had sat under that day so long ago... "Why? Why did you do shoot him?" I locked onto his crimson eyes.

"I..." He averted his gaze to the floor. "I don't know..." He seemed lost in his memories. "He didn't care for you. You never wanted to get married anyway and... I couldn't let you."

"So you killed him." Tears were now streaming down my face. "What am I supposed to do now Vincent? My father wants me dead, and my people want to kill you. I have nothing!"

He closed the gap between us fast and wiped the mixture of tears and blood off my face. "Nothing is ever hopeless. No matter how hard the task may seem, you should always try. Even if you are destined to fail." The words stung me like a cold bath. He had just described my situation like his with Lucrecia, that he would never accept me.

I looked away and tried to run somewhere fast in my blurred vision before his hand wrapped itself around my wrist and pulled me close again. "I'm talking about you Yuffie." His voice cracked with emotion. I could hardly see him now and my heart was reaching it's limit.

There was just too much, too soon. The voices in my head just kept playing over and over.

_"I COULD KILL YOU RIGHT NOW YUFFIE, I REALLY COULD!"_

_"It must be so much fun to save the world..."_

_"...what have you done to your arm?"_

_"Yuffie and Vincent back on the road to save the world!"_

_"Please Yuffie!"_

_"Lucrecia."_

_"Vincent!"_

_"You saved my life."_

_"What kind of a way was that for a Princess to behave?!"_

_"You're getting married?"_

_"Shut up you brat!"_

_"Thank you Yuffie..."_

_"You have a duty to do, and you can't run away from it any more..."_

_"I am the Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi!"_

_"Sometimes people need to grow up, your time is now."_

_"Farewell."_

_"Don't come looking for me."_

_"I did love your mother."_

_"You're not my child..."_

_"How dare you."_

_"Goodbye...my white rose of Wutai."_

I gasped and felt knees give way to the weight inside my heart. A strong pair of hands caught me and held me up against his warm body. I stared down at my palms that were tainted with blood and felt like the world was pressing down against me.

"No matter what, I will stay by your side." He whispered. "I...love you." I sucked in hard when he said that last word and looked up at his face.

Pale pink blossom caught on my eyelash and I smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"I love you too, Vincent Valentine." It was there we kissed, beneath the cherry blossom tree.

_6 months later._

It was my first time back in Wutai since that life-changing day back in spring. The breeze fell through the trees silently as I made my way towards my mother's grave. The day was warm, but I guess it always was in Wutai. I sat down and crossed my legs in the soft grass.

"Hi mom. How are you? I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while, things have been kinda hectic. See, you know women aren't allowed to rule Wutai without getting married? Well, Godo tried to set me up with Kii, do you remember him? I'm sure you do, but, I didn't want to get married. I ran away. Then Godo found me again and I _had_ to get married, it was so scary! I don't know how you did it! Well yeah, Godo gave me your wedding dress, I hope you don't mind, and it kinda get covered in blood. It wasn't my fault I swear! There's this guy, he's totally sweet and all and he didn't want to see me getting married to another guy so...he...shot...him. I know it doesn't sound right but he's amazing and Kii's fine now. Apparently the bullet didn't hit any of his major organs so he was okay. Vincent said he did it on purpose but I bet it was just a fluke! Anyway, he's fine now and is going to rule Wutai. I'm sorry mom, I know I said I would make Wutai a better place for you but Kii can do just a good a job and he promised he would make everything better here! I wanted to stay with Vincent, everybody here's still kinda pissed at him for shooting their future ruler and crap so we couldn't stay and...I love him so much mom! I know you'll understand. I can't stay for long, Godo's still trying to kill me, even if he's been deemed unfit to rule any more. Oh and say hi to Aerith for me, and tell her Cloud _finally_ proposed to Tifa...I love you mom, and I'll never, ever, forget you. I promise."

I stayed there for a while, just sitting with mom, before I heard someone approaching.

"Yuffie, are you ready?"

I sighed and looked back at the man who had saved my life so many times. "Yeah." I got up and walked towards him. I really, really, did love him.

--

A/N: The end! I hope you enjoyed it because I LOVED writing it! Oh and yeah, basically they just travelled around together for the rest of their lives and went everywhere on the Planet - except Wutai! They didn't get married or have kids though because I think it's just not in their character to do so. Plus, after what happened at Yuffie's wedding I don't think she'd be too happy to try it again! Thanks again for reading! x


	6. Updateramblings

Update: This is just a short thing to say thank you to everyone who has read this or added it to their favourites. This was my first ever fanfiction and because of the wonderful feedback I got from it, I've carried on. I think this is still my favourite story and I can't believe it's got nearly 2000 hits! That's amazing! So thank you again and I hoped you enjoyed it!

Also, I've done a small sketch of the tree from this fic, if you want to see it please check out my deviant art page. My username's Splodge82.

Thank you so much again!!!

Sophxxx

p.s If you like yuffentines, please check out my page for more! x


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